Chinese security forces detained seven foreign evangelical church leaders, including five Americans and two Taiwanese pastors, as part of a government crackdown on China’s evangelical movement, friends and investigators said Wednesday, April 19.
The court judging house church leader Zhang Rongliang, acknowledging that “there are insufficient evidence and ambiguous facts,” this week submitted the case to the Zhengzhou City Intermediate People’s Court asking for legal advice.
Chinese house churches on Friday, April 7, were anxiously awaiting answers from the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which has been asked to help free an influential ailing, and allegedly tortured, pastor from prison.
An influential Chinese house church leader was to appear Thursday, April 6, for a potentially decisive court hearing after over 16 months in police custody, a Christian news agency reported.
China Aid Association learned one House Church pastor was detained on March 20, 2006 at Hubei Province. Pastor Lian Changnian is now detained at the Detention Center of Xiantao City, Hubei Province. Pastor Lian who is from Xi’an City, Shannxi Province was leading a Bible study of over 100 believers at a House Church at Xiantao City when the raid occurred.
China Aid Association learned 24 House Church Leaders are still missing following a police raid on a house church leaders’ meeting in Henan Province. CAA released the Defense Statement today in the case of a controversial religious group leader, Xu Shuangfu, by his defense Lawyers.
On March 6th at 11 a.m., Beijing time, the Chinese Public Security Bureau (PSB) raided a registered Protestant church in Qiaozhuang Village, Wangmingkou Town, Xiangcheng County, Henan Province. Among the arrested church leaders were 34-year-old Pastor Liu Tuanjie, 52-year-old Mr. Li Xueqin and Ms. Ma. Shortly after her arrest, Ms. Ma was released when her family paid a fine of $400 U.S. Pastors Liu and Li were not released until the evening of March 10th, after persistent urging from China Aid Association and global prayers for their immediate discharge.
Seventeen top leaders of a major religious group in China faced an uncertain future Monday, March 6, after their four-day trial ended amid reports they were tortured and sexually abused by Communist authorities seeking confessions.
Chinese security forces have released dozens of Christian leaders and students of a House Church Bible School in Anhui Province who were detained Wednesday, March 1, after international pressure human rights activists said.
Gao Wei (not his real name) was an active Christian leader for several years in a large Chinese city until 2004. Now he’s an applicant for political asylum in a Western country.
When Chinese house church historian Zhang Yinan applied for a passport in order to attend a prayer breakfast in Washington this month, police immediately surrounded his house and even followed his wife to the hospital where she works as a nurse.
A prominent Christian rights activist who was recently released last month after spending two years in jail, was under strict secret service surveillance Tuesday, February 14, as part of efforts by the authorities to monitor his activities, a watchdog said.
Prosecuted Chinese house churches on Saturday, January 21, were expecting more legal support after a group of top Chinese lawyers and legal scholars announced the establishment of an association dedicated to defending Chinese Christians.
A key house church leader in China and relatives were still behind bars Thursday, December 22, after their appeal was rejected, BosNewsLife learned.
As Christmas approaches, Chinese security forces have reportedly arrested dozens of leaders of the rapidly growing house churches, BosNewsLife learned Tuesday, December 13.
An influential house church leader who was reportedly kidnapped along with his son by Chinese security forces was released Monday, November 21, just hours after American President George W. Bush left China, a religious rights group said.
Beijing authorities on November 4 ordered a Chinese legal firm to suspend activities for a year, hours after top lawyer Gao Zhisheng filed court documents in defense of Pastor Cai Zhuohua.
Pastor Cai was abducted from a bus stop and dragged into a van by three plain-clothed State Security officers on September 11 2004. According to a former fellow inmate, Pastor Cai was repeatedly tortured with electric shocks and forced to give false confessions to serious charges.
China’s government has ordered a top law firm in Beijing to close for one year because of its involvement in defending Christians, including house church leaders, and other religious minorities, a religious rights watchdog said.
The leader of six house churches in China’s capital Beijing, who was detained by security officers last year, is held at a detention facility where he is forced to carry out hard labor, human rights investigators said Friday, October 28.